Forum rules
We hope that the Living in Taiwan forum will be of value to you and others. To ensure this, please note:

It is best to capitalize topics and to avoid vague titles. “Hi, I’m new” and “Help please” are examples of bad titles.

Before posting, please check the FAQ thread, and – more importantly – use the search function to ensure that your topic has not been discussed before and that there is not an existing thread you could update with your contribution.

While Living in Taiwan is a busy, wide-ranging forum, there are other specific forums for relationships, teaching, business, legal issues, animals, food, events, travel, restaurants, and so on. Check the Forumosa menu to find the most appropriate place for your post.

While it is preferable to post questions dealing with dissimilar topics in separate threads (“How Much for an Apartment in Tianmu?”, “Are There Many Foreigners in Tianmu?”), if you are a new arrival, it is possible to present numerous questions in one post, but realize that your thread will then, after two weeks, be merged into the New to Taiwan: Some Questions thread.

- "Taiwan's residents consume huge amounts of seafood, but much of it is imported rather than caught in the waters off the island".- " why is it that fresh fish caught in neighboring waters is more expensive in neighboring waters is more expensive along the Hsinchu coast than in similar seafood restaurants in Taipei? Simply put, because fish in Taiwan is generally not freshly caught".-- " Hordes of tourists from North and Central Taiwan flood the area on weekends and holidays, hoping to get a taste of the freshest seafood, without realizing that what they may be buying or eating is frozen fish caught in distant waters".- "Taiwan can be accurately described as a "fishless" island, relying mostly on cultivated fish and catches from distant waters to satisfy the high demand"- "The problem {according to Acadamia Sinica} is that Taiwan's coasts were destroyed a long time ago by overfishing, habitat destruction, and environmental pollution]".- "The auction markets in these ports in southern Taiawn now serve more as transaction and distribution centers. Fish are gathered from all over and then sent to traditional markets in Tainan and Kaohsiung, where they are then purchased by customers".- "The special local flavor that once distinguished each port has completely disappeared".- According to Fisheries Agency director-general James Sha, "Initially, we depended on fishing vessels to catch fish. Then we relied on fish smuggled in from China. Now we depend on imports"

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Considering the way local fisherman have gang raped the seas off Taiwan, no wonder.

As a scuba diver, I often see fishing in protected areas, under the noses of the coastguard, who do f^%k all. Zero enforcement of marine protection laws.

You are lucky if you see an anorexic sea horse.

Jesus Quintana: Let me tell you something, pendejo. You pull any of your crazy shit with us, you flash a piece out on the lanes, I'll take it away from you, stick it up your ass and pull the fucking trigger 'til it goes "click."The Dude: Jesus.Jesus Quintana: You said it, man. Nobody fucks with the Jesus.

Mr.Lahey: The shitabyss!Randy: Mr. Lahey, not another night of the shitabyss, please?!Mr.Lahey: Ah, fuck it.

If you talk to god, you're religious. If god talks to you, you're psychotic.Gregory House

There are so many fishing boats trawling constantly outside my house- I wonder what they're coming up with? Also heard that the reason the jelly fish were so bad 2 summers ago was because their natural competitors/predators had been fished to oblivion. Then last summer- no jellyfish- did they put something in the water to kill them all to save tourism? And how much pollution is there?

they still take a lot out. squid boats are common too locally. as a matter of fact i can think of a couple uses for all those big ass lights on squid boats that would use less energy, create more profits and also its waste be commercially valuable.

one of my students is from Dongang in PIngdong. his family fishes, and his uncle always goes down near borneo to fish for the big tuna. they were telling me the prices they get for some of these fish....no wonder its worth the trip.

also in restaurants there are LOTS of locally farmed fish. no idea on how much is exported, but surely the domestic aquatic farms must put a dent in the total, no?

A wee ancedote about over-fishing. I just got sent the pics from the folks I met when hiking up into Er-Zi Shan (fairly remote hot springs). They were staying there for 2 nights, and this photo was taken on the 2nd day. So by that time they had at most 4 more meals left, that's an awful lot of fish for 5 people. There's a fair chance all these are Taiwanese shoveljaw carp, 苦花, an endemic and not that widespread species.

There ain't no way these were all eaten at the springs, and I'm doubting that they would have lasted a day and a half without refrigeration, if they chose to try and carry them out.

Some of those boats would be picking up fish from other boats. But this problem is hardly unique to Taiwan. This is the state of most fisheries around the world. Gone. The taieanese are not any worse than most european countries that destroyed there own resources years ago. Or canada with cod and then salmon farms killing all yhe wild stocks. And you can thank Norway for the latter. Almost no one takes care of fish resources.

“Everywhere else in the world is also really old” said Prof. Liu, a renowned historian at Beijing University. “We always learn that China has 5000 years of cultural heritage, and that therefore we are very special. It appears that other places also have some of this heritage stuff. And are also old. Like, really old.”

FRIENDLY REMINDER Please remember that Forumosa is not responsible for the content that appears on the other side of links that Forumosans post on our forums. As a discussion website, we encourage open and frank debate. We have learned that the most effective way to address questionable claims or accusations on Forumosa is by engaging in a sincere and constructive conversation. To make this website work, we must all feel safe in expressing our opinions, this also means backing up any claims with hard facts, including links to other websites.
Please also remember that one should not believe everything one reads on the Internet, particularly from websites whose content cannot be easily verified or substantiated. Use your common sense and do not hesitate to ask for proof.